Philadelphia: B. Franklin and D. Hall, 1755.. Folding handcolored engraved map by James Turner after Lewis Evans. Quarto. Full tan polished tree... More

Philadelphia: B. Franklin and D. Hall, 1755.. Folding handcolored engraved map by James Turner after Lewis Evans. Quarto. Full tan polished tree calf by Riviere, covers with a gilt roll tool border, spine in six compartments with raised bands, red morocco label in the second compartment, the others with an overall repeat decoration in gilt, marbled endpapers, a.e.g. Map backed on linen. Very good. One of the most important maps of the British colonies done prior to Independence, a landmark in American cartography and an important Franklin printing. Lewis Evans' map, titled "A General Map of the Middle British Colonies in America," shows the east coast of North America from Montreal and New England to the northern border of North Carolina, and also includes the Ohio valley in the west. The Evans map appeared in 1755, the same year as John Mitchell's famous map, with Evans drawing from his original surveys and Fry and Jefferson's 1753 map of Virginia. Evans' map acknowledges French claims to all lands northwest of St. Lawrence Fort, resulting in criticism from New York, notably the New York Mercury. Despite the controversy, Evans's work was very popular (there were eighteen editions between 1755 and 1814), and was famously used by General Braddock during the French and Indian War. Evans gives a detailed geographical description of the middle and southern colonies, particularly notable for an early description of the Ohio country, and gives a good description of the Carolina back country. Evans was also eager for the British to expand into the South, especially West Florida, to challenge the French and Spanish in the Gulf. According to Governor Pownall, writing in 1776, the map was the authority for settling boundary disputes in the region as it so accurately depicted the region. The present example is a very fine copy of the second edition, first issue of the text published by Benjamin Franklin (i.e. without an additional London imprint below Franklin's) and contains a rare example of the first issue of the map (i.e. without "The Lakes Cataraqui" just north of Lake Ontario). Significantly, the map present in this copy is with lovely full period hand-coloring. Sabin notes that many copies of Evans' tract do not include the map, and that only some copies are fully colored, as is this copy. On this second edition of the text, published the same year as the first, Miller notes: "This revised second edition of Evan's analysis of his General Map of the Middle British Colonies is virtually a page-for-page resetting of the first edition with sub- titles added on pp. 6 and 11, and the numeral 2 inserted to the left of the signature on the directional line of the first two leaves of each quire in fours." "The map is considered by historians to be the most ambitious performance of its kind undertaken in America up to that time, and its publication was a milestone in the development of printing arts in the colonial period" - Schwartz & Ehrenberg. MILLER 606. CAMPBELL 543. EVANS 7412. SABIN 23175. HOWES E226. CHURCH 1003. WHEAT & BRUN 298. BROWN, EARLY MAPS OF THE OHIO VALLEY 41. CRESSWELL, "COLONY TO COMMONWEALTH," pp.53-54, 82. DEGREES OF LATITUDE 34. GARRISON, CARTOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA, pp.269-74. PHILADELPHIA: THREE CENTURIES OF AMERICAN ART, pp.64-67. SCHWARTZ & EHRENBERG, p.165. STEPHENSON & McKEE, VIRGINIA IN MAPS, p.82. SUAREZ, SHEDDING THE VEIL 57. THE WORLD ENCOMPASSED 255. Klinefelter, "Lewis Evans and his Maps" in TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, Vol. 61, no. 7 (1971). Stevens, LEWIS EVANS AND HIS MAP (London, 1905). Less

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Amsterdam: Th?ore Pierre, 1610.. Six engraved maps on eight sheets (two double- page, two folding, two on two folding sheets), fifty-eight engraved... More

Amsterdam: Th?ore Pierre, 1610.. Six engraved maps on eight sheets (two double- page, two folding, two on two folding sheets), fifty-eight engraved in-text illustrations. Folio. Expertly bound to style in old vellum. Five illustrations shaved into image area; occasional expert restoration. Very good. In a half black morocco folding box. Very rare first edition in French of the great classic of travel literature. "When Linschoten returned from Goa to his home in the Netherlands, he did so at a time when the people of northern Europe and particularly his countrymen were especially interested in what he had to report concerning the trading activities of the Portuguese in the East. He had lived in Goa for six years from 1583, and while he never ventured far from the Portuguese capital, he did have an 'avaricious thirst for knowledge which enabled him to get detailed information of land and sea as far afield as the Spice Islands and China'" - Penrose. But his most important and far-reaching observations concerned the gradual decline of Portuguese power in the East and her ability to protect her trade routes and monopolies. This, together with the trading possibilities he detailed, encouraged a series of Dutch, French and English fleets to set sail for the Spice Islands and beyond to China and Japan. An important work that served not only as a valuable record, but also as a catalyst for change in the balance of power amongst European trading nations in the east. This first edition in French is translated from the Latin edition of Linschoten published in parts II-IV of De Bry's PETIT VOYAGES in 1599 and 1601 (which also contained other narratives). The illustrations are printed from exactly the same plates as used in De Bry, and other aspects conform with the text as it appears in the PETIT VOYAGES. This includes the commentary on Linschoten's text by Bernard Paludanus, first appearing in the De Bry edition, and only otherwise appearing here. It is particularly useful for notations on botany and food. It has generally been accepted that this edition was actually printed in Frankfurt rather than Amsterdam, despite the imprint. probably by the same printer who printed De Bry's work (see Tiele 685). There are two issues of the first edition in French published in 1610: one by H. Laurenszoon, and one by Pierre (as here). It would have made sense for De Bry to have done this; the PETIT VOYAGES appeared only in Latin and German, but the demand for Linschoten made it worthwhile to publish separately in French. Because of De Bry's strong anti-Catholicism, he could not reach the french market directly, but did it by using the Dutch publishers as intermediaries. The differing imprints reinforce this, suggesting the Laurenszoon and Pierre were really publishers, not printers, of the work. One of the most important early editions of Linschoten, the first to appear in French, and indicative of the complex printing and publishing relationships of the time. Ernst van den Boogaart, JAN HUYGEN VAN LINSCHOTEN AND THE MORAL MAP OF ASIA. BORBA DE MORAES, p.489 (ref). EUROPEAN AMERICANA 610/69. JCB (3)II:71. SABIN 41369. TIELE-MULLER 95(f). Less

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Amsterdam: Cornelis Claesz, 1596 - 1595 - 1596.. Three parts bound in one volume (parts two and three bound in reverse order in this copy). Text in... More

Amsterdam: Cornelis Claesz, 1596 - 1595 - 1596.. Three parts bound in one volume (parts two and three bound in reverse order in this copy). Text in double columns. [8],160; 134,[4],135-147,[8]; 82,[1]pp. plus a total of six folding or double-page maps, thirty- six folding or double-page plates, and a single-page portrait of Linschoten. Folio. Contemporary vellum, elaborately tooled in gilt, spine with gilt compartments, silk ties, yapp edges. Recased, with new endpapers. Maps and folding plates with some occasional slight chipping or splits at folds, repaired on versos in some cases. Occasional tanning or foxing. Overall, a handsome copy, brilliantly colored. In a chemise and half morocco and cloth slipcase, spine gilt. A remarkable copy of the first edition of the most important description of the East Indies in the Age of Discovery, with beautiful early hand-coloring and in a handsome contemporary vellum binding, likely a special presentation copy. Linschoten's work was of tremendous importance, as it unlocked the secrets of Asian trade routes, once the exclusive domain of the Portuguese, for the rest of Europe Jan Huygen van Linschoten (1563-1611) a Dutchman born in Haarlem in 1563, had an "avaricious thirst for knowledge which enabled him to get detailed information of land and sea as far afield as the Spice Islands and China" (Penrose). Linschoten travelled to Goa in 1583 as a clerk of the newly- appointed Portuguese Archbishop of Goa. He made a few trips into India, compiling notes on his experiences, gleaned information on sea routes from Portuguese sailors, and collected information from other sources as well. Linschoten left India in 1589, hired as a pepper factor for the Fugger and Welser interests, where he learned about the organization and administration of the spice trade. Returning to Holland in 1592 (after a two-year stay in the Azores), he prepared his notes for the Amsterdam publisher, Claeszoon, in response to interest in the Netherlands and other European countries about commercial possibilities in Asia. As trade in the Far East was dependent on routes via America or Africa, his work eventually encompassed the entire globe, including Spanish and Portuguese activities in America. Linschoten's practical experience lent authenticity to his work, and it remains one of the most important of all travel books. Linschoten's ITINERARIO... and the two other works published in 1595 and 1596 (which should properly be found together, as here) soon was considered the single most significant source regarding the East and West Indies and numerous editions were published in Dutch, Latin, French, German, and English. Klooster describes the work as "a magnificent panorama of pictures and maps of the non-European world. ITINERARIO contained so much detailed and accurate information about shipping lanes, winds, and currents, that seafarers could use it virtually as a handbook. Many of his maps were in fact copies of the excellent models of the Portuguese cartographer Fern?Vaz Dourado." It was the most comprehensive account of the East and West Indies available at the beginning of the 17th century. As well as including important travel accounts taken from contemporary Portuguese, Dutch, and Spanish sources, it is the first work to include precise sailing instructions for the Indies, and, according to Church (and other authorities), "it was given to each ship sailing from Holland to India." The second section, REYS-GHESCHRIFT VANDE NAVIGATIEN..., was published in 1595, a year before the ITINERARIO..., and is bound last in this copy. The text gives detailed sailing directions for the East Indies, as well as for Brazil and the West Indies. The third part (bound second in this copy) gives an account of America on pages 17-82, especially the coastal regions, and includes information on the African coast as well. It is found here in its first state (see Church), and was published in 1596. The maps include van Langren's maps of the East Indies and South America (including the Caribbean and Florida), and the double- hemispherical world map of Plancius dated 1596 (Shirley 192). The marvellous plates include scenes of Asia, particularly Java, China, and India. Several of the plates depict activities in Goa, including a wonderful panoramic view of the market, while other plates depict Portuguese travellers on land and on sea. Linschoten's is an important work that served not only as a valuable record, but also as a catalyst for change in the balance of power amongst European trading nations in the east: "the navigator's vade mecum for the Eastern seas" (Penrose). When Linschoten returned from Goa to his home in the Netherlands, he did so at a time when the people of northern Europe and particularly his countrymen were especially interested in what he had to report concerning the trading activities of the Portuguese in the East. His most important and far- reaching observations concerned the gradual decline of Portuguese power in the East and her ability to protect her trade routes and monopolies. This, together with the trading possibilities he detailed, encouraged a series of Dutch, French, and English fleets to set sail for the Spice Islands, and beyond to China and Japan. Lach says that Linschoten's description of Goa is "one of the most original and reliable narratives prepared during the sixteenth century on life at the hub of Portugal's Eastern empire and still is regarded as one of the best sources for Goa's history at the peak of its glory....The original edition...contains a number of excellent maps, three of which are of great value for the study of Asia. These maps, which are much better and more detailed than earlier printed maps, were clearly derived from the latest and best Portuguese charts of the Eastern oceans and sea coasts" - Lach. Parry calls Linschoten's work "a journal of human adventure and observation, an uplifting story that appeals on many levels." "Fine copies of this work with all the maps and plates are extremely rare" - Church catalogue. A work of tremendous consequence and importance, here in a handsome copy with lovely contemporary hand- coloring. EUROPEAN AMERICANA 596/63 & 596/64. JCB I, pp.343-345. SHIRLEY 192, 182. SABIN 41356. TIELE 84-87. KLOOSTER, DUTCH IN THE AMERICAS, p.8 & catalogue item 5. David E. Parry, THE CARTOGRAPHY OF THE EAST INDIAN ISLANDS, p.84-85. CHURCH 252. HOWGEGO L131. BORBA DE MORAES, pp.486-487. WAGNER, NORTHWEST COAST 184. Lach, ASIA IN THE MAKING OF EUROPE, volume 1, pp.198-204 & 482-489. Less

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